That’s Not My Dog Review

Summary: THAT’S NOT MY DOG is a joyous comedy that celebrates our love of joke telling. The film centers around the lovable Shane Jacobson (playing himself) who is throwing a party. Invited are the funniest people Shane knows comprising of Australia’s biggest stars along with several Australian music legends playing their biggest hits live, right throughout the party. The invite that goes out is clear. Don’t bring meat. We’ll provide the beer. Just come armed with nothing but the funniest jokes you’ve ever heard. Shane will take care of the rest. It’ll be a night of great friends telling the world’s funniest jokes over a beer and BBQ.

OUR THAT’S NOT MY DOG REVIEWS & RATINGS:

Dave Griffiths Review:

When it comes to comedy specials things are normally pretty straight forward – it’s either one comedian doing stand-up for the entire special or a producer randomly selects the current ‘it’ comedian to host a special where they simply just stand in front of a camera and ‘introduce’ a myriad of comedians to perform their own stand-up routine. That’s where That’s Not My Dog comes into its own.

Aussie comedy great Shane Jacobson (The Bourne Legacy, The Dressmaker) came up with an absolute gem of an idea when he rang his great mate producer/director Dean Murphy (Charlie &Boots, Strange Bedfellows) and said that he wanted to bring back the art of telling a good old-fashioned joke. Of course the creative mind of Jacobson wouldn’t settle for just the plain old comedy special, and in his brilliance he comes up with the wonderful idea of inviting 30 of his funniest mates to come to a BBQ – eat great food, have some brilliant live music played for them while they also stand around telling some of the funniest jokes that you are ever likely to hear.

The result is a brilliant film that turns out to be a celebration of Australian comedy like we have never seen before. The audience sits laughing themselves into hysterics as comedy greats like Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee, Strange Bedfellows) and Steve Vizard (Full Frontal, The Wrong Girl) join forces with comedians of today, like Jimeon (The Craic, The Extra) and Lehmo (Any Questions For Ben, Utopia) and tell three of the funniest jokes that they know. Then of course there are also the hidden talents of those such as Michaela Banas (Nowhere Boys, Always Greener) who steals the show with not only her jokes but also with her ability to tell them.

The concept of the jokes being told at a BBQ just adds to the film with the background noise, and live music being provided by the likes of Dan Kelly, The Black Sorrows and Adam Brand just adding even more atmosphere to the film. What works best though with the film is of course the jokes and luckily for Jacobson his cast came along armed with some of the best jokes that you are ever likely to hear. Aside from Michaela Banas the other star here who really steals the show is the great Marty Fields (Ghost Rider, Blue Heelers) who just delivers comedy gem after comedy gem.

That’s Not My Dog is a brilliant comedic idea that results in pure comedy gold. Shane Jacobson needs to be applauded for taking a stance and re-introducing the lost of art of joke telling to Australians and we should all support him by not only going to see the film but by turning up to work on Monday and saying “hey guys, you should hear this joke I heard on the weekend.”

Greg King’s Review:

The affable Shane Jacobson (whose previous film The BBQ was a massive disappointment and a laboured and unfunny comedy that failed to fire up) threw a massive party at his father’s property in Clarkeville, in regional Victoria. He invited along thirty of Australia’s top comics to share in the joy of joke telling and laughter. He provided all the meat and beer, all the guests had to provide was their funniest jokes. Guests included Paul Hogan, Jimeoin, Marty Fields, Stephen Hall, Fiona O’Loughlin and Tim Ferguson, amongst many others.

The whole night was captured on film by filmmaker Dean Murphy, who directed both Jacobson and Hogan in the road comedy Charlie And Boots. Murphy adopts a free-flowing style here as the camera roams around the party, recording the jokes and the camaraderie. Gags fly thick and fast throughout the relatively brisk 89-minute running time. Each of the guests are given their moment to shine, but some seem to get more screen time than others. Some of the jokes may be familiar, but the veteran comics also put a fresh spin on the gags. And the musical accompaniment to the evening was provided by a bevy of musical acts, including The Black Sorrows, Russell Morris, Adam Brand and Dan Kelly.

That’s Not My Dog is like spending an informal evening in the company of these comics as they enjoy each other’s company and eavesdropping on their funny stories in a somewhat relaxed setting. Everyone seemed to be having a ball. Jacobson’s father Ron comes across as a pretty good story teller himself, but his energy seems to be flagging by the end of the night. The whole thing was filmed over one long night, shot by cinematographer Robert Lanser (who shot Murphy’s Charlie And Boots). Then Murphy and his editor Robert Mond patiently worked through the footage to tighten up the material and remove jokes that were repetitious or potentially too crude or offensive.

One of the big distractions in the film is the blatant product placement, although this is probably how Jacobson and Murphy gained the funding for this low budget film and extravagant evening.

Depending on personal taste though some of the humour will be hit or miss. The title itself comes from the punch line to a classic joke that was used in a Pink Panther movie. For me the highlights were Marty Fields and his stream on clever and witty one-liners and a great joke about a woman joining the CIA.

And while a generally entertaining film, That’s Not My Dog is not great cinema. However, it will be best enjoyed in the cinema where audiences can share the experience and the humour with others, as laughter is often infectious. But it will also do well when released on DVD, where you can re-watch and listen to your favourite jokes over again.

Average Buzz Rating (out of 5):

That’s Not My Dog Review was last modified: March 18th, 2018 by David Griffiths

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